#TravelWithSel: Ubud Yoga Centre

The retreat of your yogi dreams.

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On a supposedly peaceful Thursday (17th of November) morning, my dad woke me up and asked me to go to Ubud with him on a 3 day long yoga retreat. Naturally, I said no since I was on the last few days of my 10 day break before my two final IB papers for Business Management. He was persistent, though. He kept going in and out of my room, entering with a new angle of persuasion, but to no avail. That is until I went on Snapchat and saw Cosmopolitan's new horoscopes for the week. Now, I'm quite difficult to convince, and although I have quirky little rituals I do to convince myself of certain things, I'm always conscious that they're only superstitions that calm my anxiety. However, Cosmpolitan's horoscopes had been correct 3 weeks in a row prior to this one. So, when I saw Cosmpolitan suggest that I do some spiritual activities, actually stating "like yoga", I was game. I barged in to my dad's room explaining that my horoscope told me to go and my dad called my mom to get the tickets right after laughing at her somewhat ridiculous daughter. ​

The whole trip was a spontaneous roller coaster from start to finish. I packed at lightning speed, Ubered our way to the airport, got our seats upgraded (thanks to Garuda and my father), ate some Hong Tang (because we love Hong Tang) and got on the last flight to Bali. When we arrived, a driver took us to my Oma and step-Opa's house in Seminyak, went to bed, woke up at 5, drove to Ubud, and so our 3 day journey began. 

posted on Instagram (@selenasoemakyes)

The hotel we stayed in, Labak River Hotel, was beautiful. It was simple and small, consisting of 3 floors and a total of 11 rooms. It's the hotel of your romantic tropical getaway dreams, except I stayed with my dad who played loud R&B music the whole time.

After we checked in, we went ahead to visit the place we'd be spending the most time at for the next few days: the Ubud Yoga Centre, conveniently located right next to our hotel. The front of the Yoga Centre was decorated with Yogi and Instagram-worthy glass wall decals that greeted us before we even entered.
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The glass wall gave a sneak peak of the greatness that was too come through a cozy little children play area, but nothing could have prepared us for the breathtaking view that we were about to encounter. 
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The first floor of the Yoga Centre had a whole row of vibrant tall chairs that overlooked a beautiful mini forest and other villas and hotels in the area. Aside from the children's play area, they also had a Yogi store and a raw/organic/vegetarian/vegan/healthy cafe called Raw 42 where you can order yummy meals and smoothies after your yoga classes. To complement the island vibe, they had cozy hanging bed-like seats which resembled hammocks and vintage looking sofas, with calming zen music to complete the ambiance. 
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​Upstairs, the relaxed and spiritual only doubled with the sounds of flowing water form their pond and the clear windows that gave everyone a look in to the hot yoga class. The Yoga Centre definitely has a wider variety than the usual yoga classes in Jakarta (although Jakarta is broadening their horizon by including some ballet classes for adults, which I'm very excited about!), so I was more than excited to try them all out. During my short stay, I chose to try Bikram Yoga Express, Hot Pilates, Fly High Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga. All the instructors were supportive, professional and gave the perfect amount of good vibes throughout all of the classes. ​
Overall, the place was amazing and I wish I could stay for much longer. Special thanks to Tante Mony Suriany for helping make my yoga experience possible.

I would give the short yoga retreat 5 stars;

I was relaxed, challenging my body patiently, healthy, and my whole body, mind, and soul was refreshed just in time for my exams. 

​Even if you're not a huge yoga fan, I still suggest going alone or with the people you love surrounding yourself with, enjoy good and healthy food (I recommend the vegetarian pesto lasagna), and browse the lovely yogi store. Or, you could just come for the food and some peace and quiet for some lightweight studying, like I had to, or reading. The hanging beds are the perfect spot for fully-focused reading (and sleeping, but that's a less socially acceptable option). ​

Check out the slideshow below for some more beautiful pictures of the Ubud Yoga Centre.